War widow sues Fox over film featuring her husband

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A widow of an U.S. Army soldier killed in a blast in Afghanistan has sued Fox Cable Networks and the National Geographic Society over a documentary that showed her husband and family.

The documentary about a combat hospital called “Inside Afghan ER” featured Staff Sgt. Kevin Casey Roberts, who was serving with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Khost province in Afghanistan in 2008.

A year after his death, his wife, Donnice Roberts, got a call from a service member in Germany who saw her husband in the documentary. According to the lawsuit filed in Texas on Nov. 1, she never knew there was video footage related to her husband’s death and that the documentary existed.

She is seeking at least $750,000 in damages and wants a judge to prevent the film from airing again. She also wants the cable network to stop using images of military families without their permission.

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The documentary was produced and distributed by the National Geographic Society, and was promoted and distributed by Fox Networks Inc. and Fox Entertainment Group Inc., which owns part of the NatGeo network.

Scott Grogin, a spokesman for Fox Networks Group, said the film never aired in the United States. Instead, it aired on the National Geographic International channel.

“The filmmakers got permission from the military to shoot the documentary and as part and parcel of that, were granted permission to shoot the memorial service,” he said.

No one immediately answered the phone or email for National Geographic.

Donnice Roberts said an image of herself and her children that had been stored on her husband’s laptop was used in the documentary during scenes about his memorial service in Afghanistan.

She said she suffered mental anguish, shock and sadness from learning about the documentary.

“Moreover, Mrs. Roberts has fears and concerns that her minor children are depicted as the children of a warrior in the war on terror, which is fought by fanatic, radical individuals who have shown a propensity and desire to kill Americans, including women and children,” the lawsuit said.

Sgt. Roberts joined the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and served two tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan. He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart and was buried in Texas, where his family lives.